Phenomena just are. 'Me' being or not being in control doesn't come into it. It's a kind of clinging. The Buddhist practice is to see that and thus let go. Except the reality is that until we have the insight to see it as it is, we need to work with the "me," which is the purpose of the precepts, o...

Greetings Snowmelt, Alas, we've never been able to get the Dhamma Wheel e-mail function (and thus, spin-off functions like Subscriptions) working although believe it or not we are still in discussions with people who may be able to provide us with some technical assistance. Metta, Retro. :) Thanks ...

Perhaps you have already heard of Wat Pah Nanachat? It is a monastery established by Ajahn Chah for monks from countries other than Thailand. I have heard good things about it. The website appears to be down at the moment, but Wikipedia has this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Pah_Nanachat" onclic...

How useful is the feverish Western pursuit of truth - and feverish promotion of the importance of truth - above all else? Does it result in happiness? Does it produce truth? Does it reduce the amount of lies in the world? I would appreciate any comments on this.

Wow, thanks so much for these kind responses! Evidently one little hemorrhage causes a heck of a lot of pain. Our human bodies are so fragile. I'm back home, thank goodness. Re-check with doc in one-two days. Thanks all, very much :anjali: Nice to see you back. http://static.apolyton.net/forums/ima...

To add, some comments are so outrageous that I wouldn't even know where to begin! http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e253/scyleia/Smilies/thshakinghead.gif I would rather drop the whole matter now than risk upsetting Drolma. Hmm ... I guess that means that community is sometimes more important to me...

To me it is a serious question as to what extent one should, having assiduously followed the advice of the Kalama Sutta and so determined for oneself that the Dhamma is efficacious and worthy of full devotion, just dive in, disregarding all external notions of truth and falsehood as hindrances to ad...

Many academics have their own background and they tend to see things from a specific point of view, I find it hard to see academics with a good conceptual understanding of Buddhism. I have either had contact or read texts from academics who see Buddhism as merely another offspring of the vedic trad...

... I see no reason to think that Buddhist traditions are any more "the same religion" than Abrahamic traditions are "the same religion". Whilst there may be certain common historical themes there are also radical differences in their beliefs. If you compare the Theravada and Mahayana belief struct...

Thanks for the conversation, Nathan. Despite my adherence to the Tipitaka, I still found myself considering your point of view and questioning my own to a degree. It wouldn't do for me to get completely hidebound. So, thanks.

Hi Snowmelt and welcome to the Dhamma Mosh Pit Sub-Forum. Hello. :) I'm not trying to point a finger at you or anyone else. Understood. :) When it comes to criticisms of possible Arahats then I suggest that first we take the standard description of an Arahat, based on the Tipitika, a complete model...